1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to methods and apparatuses for rendering toxic and nuclear waste environmentally neutral.
2. Description of Prior Art
The E.P.A. and other government agencies have compiled long lists of chemicals that are hazardous to the environment and mankind. These hazardous wastes have organic and inorganic components, in addition to this there are radioactive wastes. The E.P.A. and other organizations have compiled lists of sites contaminated with these wastes. Many times the soil of the site has been contaminated. The E.P.A. licenses incinerators to dispose of these contaminated soils. The incineration of soil contaminated with organic wastes is not cost effective because of the fuel that must be mixed with it. Incineration methods of waste disposal produce carbon dioxide, water, and always some poisonous dioxin. These products are produced because incineration is an oxidizing process. Electrically generated plasma affords a reducing chemistry that will not produce dioxin when handling PCB's. Plasma torch devices like that of U. S. Pat. No. 4,644,877 issued to T. G. Barton and E. S. Fox on Feb. 24, 1987 which teaches "PLASMA PYROLYSIS WASTE DESTRUCTION", will successfully breakdown halogenated organics like PCB, which is incorporated herein by reference. These describe the reaction as pyrolytic atomization and ionization. The plasma breaks the chemical bonds of and ionizes the atoms in the toxic waste molecules. This makes it possible to control the recombining of these atoms to effect the desired neutralization. The plasma devices that deal with halogenated organic wastes like PCB recombine the carbon into methane. They recombine the halogens into salts. Before plasma related methods of toxic waste disposal incineration had been the most promising method even though they produced dioxin. Plasma methods are now the most promising method even though the direct current (not oscillating current) plasma torches that they use require costly and hazardous changing of eroded electrodes. These do not handle heavy metal or nuclear waste or waste mixed in soils. A U. S. patent, U. S. Pat. No. 4,376,598 issued to R. A. Brouns et al., on Mar. 15, 1983 teaches "IN-SITU VITRIFICATION OF SOIL". The Brouns et al disclosure is directed toward the use of two or more conductive electrodes which are inserted into soil for heating the soil mass to above its melting temperature to immobilize waste within the soil. The Brouns equipment suffers leakages of dangerous gasses. The Brouns equipment has difficulty producing a uniform end product which makes final disposal problematic.